Erdoğan, Aliyev reaffirm ‘unshakable’ ties in Karabakh visit

SHUSHA, Azerbaijan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (L) and his Azerbaijani counterpart İlham Aliyev shaking hands at a joint news conference, in Shusha, Azerbaijan, on Nov. 8, 2026. (AA Photo)

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Azerbaijani counterpart, İlham Aliyev, have reaffirmed the “unshakable” ties between their countries amid recent controversies.

“Those who seek to weaken our brotherhood will never achieve their goals, just as they have failed in the past,” Erdoğan said at a joint news conference in the Azerbaijani city of Shusha following talks with Aliyev.

Erdoğan described the countries’ unity of purpose as an “everlasting torch drawing strength from our shared past and lighting the way toward the future.”

“Relations between Türkiye and Azerbaijan have reached their current advanced level after passing through various stages of history,” he said. “Our brotherhood goes far beyond a shared language, history and culture.”

Aliyev, in turn, described Türkiye and Azerbaijan as the closest of nations and states.

“The unity of Türkiye and Azerbaijan is eternal and unshakable. Those who want to come between us will never succeed,” he added.

Erdoğan visited the Karabakh region at Aliyev’s invitation as Azerbaijan marked the sixth anniversary of its victory in the 2020 war with Armenia.

During his visit, Erdoğan was welcomed with an official ceremony at the governor’s office in Shusha before holding talks with Aliyev. He was also scheduled to visit the Khojaly Genocide Memorial and museum, as well as the Victory Monument in Khankendi.

Erdoğan was accompanied by first lady Emine Erdoğan, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı, intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın, Communications Director Burhanettin Duran, his adviser Akif Çağatay Kılıç, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy leader Kürşad Zorlu and Organization of Turkic States official Binali Yıldırım.

Before the visit, Erdoğan sent Aliyev a congratulatory letter in which he described Azerbaijan’s struggle in the Karabakh war as “a source of pride for the entire Turkic world.”

“Thanks to our coordinated efforts to establish lasting peace, tranquility and stability in our region, the South Caucasus is now being referred to not as a region of conflict and instability, but as a region of cooperation and development,” Erdoğan said in the letter, according to the Azerbaijani presidency.

The 44-day war began on Sept. 27, 2020, when Azerbaijani forces launched an offensive to retake territories held by Armenian forces. A Nov. 10 ceasefire agreement ended the fighting, with Armenia agreeing to withdraw from the Aghdam, Lachin and Kalbajar districts.

Azerbaijan later moved its Victory Day commemoration from Nov. 10 to Nov. 8, the anniversary of the capture of Shusha, because the original date coincided with the death anniversary of modern Türkiye founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

The visit comes amid reported strains in relations between Ankara and Baku over their differing approaches to ties with Israel, as well as concerns in Azerbaijan over a regulatory change affecting students who wear headscarves in schools. Reports have also said Baku accused several Turkish officials of interfering in its domestic affairs.